It’s far more common than it used to be, but a slam dunk in high school basketball can still rouse a team.
Ninth-ranked Chicago Vocational trailed No. 17 Curie throughout the first half Tuesday. But just before halftime, Vocational’s Lawrence Burnett let loose with a monster dunk that brought the Cavaliers into the locker room with momentum they would carry to a 62-48 victory.
The dunk pulled the Cavaliers (7-0) to within 25-24, and they then opened the second half with a 12-0 run and held Curie (4-2) scoreless for almost six minutes.
“Nowadays a dunk means so much to these kids,” Vocational coach Don Russell said. “To me it’s just two points, but today it boosted our morale. They went into the locker room talking about the dunk and they came out and turned up the defense in the third quarter.”
Curie pulled to within 37-35 in the fourth quarter, but the Cavaliers pulled away with a 14-1 run. Raymond Hubbard led CVS with 23 points and 11 rebounds, Clifford Murkey added 17 and Burnett 15.
More Top Picks Best Monitor Light Bars For Eye Strain
“(The dunk) got us going because it picked the momentum up,” Hubbard said. “The coach got on us at halftime about slacking off on defense and that pumped us up a little bit too.”
Westinghouse 64, Kenwood 49: Terrance Williams scored 21 points and James Pace added 16 for No. 3 Westinghouse. The Warriors (8-0) led 31-26 early in the third quarter, then went on a 16-1 run with six minutes left in the game to pull away.
“(Kenwood’s) ability was a lot better than I expected,” Westinghouse coach Frank Gristo said. “They played us tough, we were able to make adjustments in the second half.”
Anthony Florence had 13 points for Kenwood (3-2).
Gordon Tech 69, St. Rita 67 (3 OT): Gordon Tech rallied with a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime and Jorge Alicea hit two free throws in triple overtime to give the seventh-ranked Rams (7-1) the victory. Devante Blanks had 18 points to lead the Rams and Steve Lickus had 16 points to lead the Mustangs (3-5).
Hillcrest 70, Lincoln-Way 66: Johnny Taylor led the 11th-ranked Hawks (9-0) with 21 points and Ryan Blankson added 18 and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Argo 77, Tinley Park 57: Marcus Mister led Argo (5-2) with 28 points and Al Sewasciuk added 17 in the non-conference matchup.
Bishop McNamara 73, Loyola Academy 66: Brett Meyer had 25 points and Mark Luhman added 14 as Bishop McNamara (1-7, 1-3) earned its first victory of the season in the Catholic League contest.
Bloom 83, Washington 68: C.C. Malone scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and Phillip Alexander added 19 points and 11 boards as Bloom rolled in the non-conference game. Jason Washington had 29 for Washington.
Buffalo Grove 80, Sullivan 59: Jason Wiertel scored 17 points and Luke Sauter added 13 to lead Buffalo Grove in the non-conference matchup.
Crystal Lake Central 56, Dundee-Crown 44: Luke Mueller scored 12 points to lead Crystal Lake Central (5-2, 4-0) in the Fox Valley Conference.
De La Salle 78, St. Francis de Sales 49: Courtney Bale scored 16 points and Eddie Harvey added 13 as De La Salle (5-1) prevailed in the Catholic League South. Jerell Parker led all scorers with 28 for de Sales.
Du Sable 82, Fenger 54: Theo Williams scored 19 points to lead Du Sable (7-1).
Immaculate Conception 56, Elmwood Park 53: John McHugh scored 19 points to lead Immaculate Conception (2-5).
Julian 61, Crane 60: Lance Williams had 24 points and Watra Banks added 21 as Julian (3-5) held off Crane.
Lake Zurich 65, McHenry 55: Ryan Szczesniak led Lake Zurich (5-2, 2-2) with 18 points and Mark Willis added 16 in the Fox Valley Conference matchup.
Luther North 64, Ridgewood 58: Darren Diaz and John Mendes each scored 20 points for Luther North (4-3).
More Top Picks Panasonic Kx Tge432
New Trier 56, Lake Forest 35: Matt Lottich scored 23 points and Todd Markman added 16 to lead No. 10 New Trier (7-0).
“Tonight Matt Lottich showed what he can do,” New Trier coach Rick Malnati said. “He was explosive and scored at will. He put Lake Forest defenders in tough situations.”
Oak Forest 60, Stagg 42: Ron Roesner had 16 points and Packy McFarlane added 13 for Oak Forest (3-5), which connected on 25 of 29 free throws.
Oak Lawn 67, Chicago Christian 53: Ed Altenburg had 20 points and five rebounds to lead Oak Lawn (3-5).
Orr 58, Corliss 50: Tyshaun Henry’s 16 points and Sahon Arch’s 15 gave Orr (1-8) its first victory of the season.
Paw Paw 61, Elgin Academy 47: Josh Martinez had 18 points and Mike Torman added 16 for Paw Paw.
Reavis 68, Morton 51: Carl Gamauf poured in 34 points to lead Reavis (7-0).
Richards 100, Crete-Monee 53: Demetris McDaniels and Morgan Thompson each scored 19 points to lead Richards (6-1).
Richmond-Burton 67, Johnsburg 64 (OT): Dylan Smith and Jeff Friedle each had 17 points for Richmond-Burton (5-5, 1-2) in the Big Northern White.
Spring Valley Hall tournament: Brennan Callahan (13 points) and Josh White (12) paced Seneca (9-1) to a 58-28 victory over Annawan.
Thornwood 54, Kankakee 39: Raji Terrell scored 10 points to lead Thornwood (7-1).